Westdroppedmeoffat Aces and I was immediately thrown into chaos. There were two different parties booked for the day–a bachelor partyanda bachelorette party. Most of the place was reserved aside from a handful of tables and the bar.
I tugged down the black dress that rode up my thighs when I reached for clean glasses behind the bar. Probably a coincidence that all of our glasses were on tall shelves so we were forced to stretch up multiple times per shift. I waited for Max to make my drink order–if it was beer or shots, I didn't have a problem pouring my own, but when it came to fancier concoctions, I left it to the professional. Max had gone to bartending school so he was the one stuck making a majority of the drinks for us.
As I carried a tray filled with a variety of margaritas, daiquiris, and cosmopolitans to the bachelorette party ladies, I noticed Hannigan–Pete–sitting at the end of the bar, and it took everything in me to walk and not spill the drinks all over the place. He was talking to Delaney, his eyes raking up her body, stopping at her massive cleavage. He didn't hide his ogling and she didn't seem to mind it either.
I delivered the drinks to my happy–and loud–ladies and informed them that our DJ would gladly take their music requests. I was probably in for a long night of Taylor Swift and hits from the 80s, not that I was complaining. The only good thing about working at Aces–besides the money–was the music blaring from the outdated sound system. It was easy to get lost in it.
I made it back to the bar and unintentionally made eye contact with Mom's new beau.Shit. I knew I'd have to speak with him eventually, but after what happened at my house, I wanted to avoid it like the plague. He motioned me over with his finger like I was a personal fucking servant for him.
On some level I was. FML.
Gathering every bit of confidence I could muster, I walked over to him as he dismissed Delaney. She glared at me as she went out in the crowd to one of her tables. The uncomfortable silence made me cross my arms over my chest, trying to hide as much as possible. Pete chuckled and lit up a cigarette. Last I knew, it was illegal to smoke inside bars. But then again, it was also illegal to serve minors and profit off sex work, both of which he seemed to be good at.
"You don't need to be uncomfortable around me, sweetness. Soon I'll be your papa, then you won't need to hide anything," he smirked.
"If this is how this conversation is going to go, you'll have to excuse me because I have work to do," I said, trying to spin away from him.
He grabbed my arm tightly and pulled, blowing his stinky breath at my face. He stood up to pull me closer. "One of these days, that little mouth of yours is going to get you into trouble. I can only imagine what you’re able to do with it. Don't tempt me, sweetness."
"Let me go." I yanked my arm, but he held me tighter with his bruising fingers. A hardness pushed into my back and I shivered at the thought of this turning him on. Bile rose in my chest and I did everything I could to keep it down.
"Ashtyn?" Max asked, concern lining his features as he clenched his fists.
Pete released my arm and gave me a little shove that made me stumble. "Better get back to work. I'll be in the back if you need me." He smirked again and took another puff off his cigarette before sauntering behind the red velvet curtain.
I steadied myself against the bar and inhaled deeply. I needed to ground myself before I puked. The guy made my skin crawl.
"You alright? What was that all about?" Max placed his hand on my shoulder in a comforting manner. He knew about what happened behind the curtains but tried to refrain from talking about it. "Is he trying to get you to work back there? I know he's pulled that shit with other girls before."
"No, he just...he's fucking my mom. He likes to taunt me with it. And the whole thing is so weird. I mean, I didn't like him before but now it's even worse," I shuddered.
"Damn babe, that's some shit," Max said before pulling me into a hug. I wasn't usually a hugger but it felt good to get some comfort after everything over the last few weeks.
"If he messes with you like that again, you let me know. He shouldn't be touching you like that."
Pete gave off major creepy uncle vibes and I was not here for it. If the shit continued, I'd have no choice but to leave Aces. I'd have to say adios to a three-day work week and find something full-time. That still didn't solve the problem of Momdatingthe guy. She never had good taste in men but this one took the cake. The more money a guy had, the more oblivious she was to his character flaws, and Pete had plenty of them. Nothing was redeeming about him at all.
The woohoo girls took over the dance floor asShake It Offby Taylor Swift crooned from the speakers.I knew it!They sang along and danced. I giggled at the sight, the thought of being carefree and tipsy was enchanting to me. Going to Axel's party gave me a little feeling of freedom and I loved it.
Bronx would be pissed. I finally went to a party when he was gone for the weekend.
And then there was West and his ridiculously hot body, his handsome smile, and secretly kind heart. The guy was an enigma, but I saw right through him. He didn't want anyone to know he cared, but he did, possibly more than any other person I knew.
The thoughts of West–being with West, kissing West, cuddling with West, fucking West–ran through my mind for the rest of the night. I was on autopilot, bouncing around from table to table, to the bar, and back to the tables. I kept my party girls happy with full glasses for the evening. Before I knew it, it was almost midnight.
Once I punched out, I went to my locker to check my phone. I cleared out the swath of Instagram comments and mentions and clicked on my new text messages.
Gabby: I'm alright, just hungover. I made it home. Thank you for checking on me ? I think I'm grounded until graduation…
Gabby: OH MY GOD ASHTYN! YOU AND WEST AGAIN
Gabby: *multiple heart eye emojis*
She'd seen the Instagram post–as had half the state at this point. Since she sent me the texts hours ago, I didn't respond because it was late, and I didn't want to wake her up if she was sleeping off her hangover. I checked my other messages.
Asshole: In the parking lot.
Heh, I should change his contact name, but the nostalgia made me warm and fuzzy.